IS CALIFORNIA TRYING TO DISENFRANCHISE REPUBLICAN VOTERS?

GOPportal.com ^ | 3/5/02 | GOPportal.com

[jcsmonogram]

(Los Angeles) - On the day of one of the most hotly-contested primaries in history, Republicans are being told to stand in line in order to exercise their right to vote. This is because many precincts have more voting booths set up for Democrats than for Republicans. Sometimes up to four times as many!

"This is outrageous," said one voter outside the precinct. "There were four completely empty Democratic booths and I had to stand in line for over 15 minutes for the single Republican booth. If I'd had to wait any longer, I would have had to leave without voting, or I'd have been Click here for full story

[MissAmericanPie]

Good point

[elbucko]

"....encourage illegal alien intruders....

All you have to do to enter this country since Klinton, is say: "I vote Democrat!", to Customs/INS or the Border Patrol.

They wave you on or to the front of the "IN" line.

[Inspectorette]

Well, here in my city on the Central Coast, we're still using paper ballots that you mark with a black magic marker. Maybe someday we'll get into the 20th century (the 21st may be too much to hope for.)

I was amazed when I moved out here from Taxachusetts - I lived in a little one-horse town and had been using voting machines from the time I registered back in the late '60's.

[Pay now bill Clinton]

By traditionally holding the primary later than many other states, it might be more accurate to say that California is trying to disenfranchise Republicans AND Democrats. This is certainly true during a presidential election year. By the time the primary comes to CA there is practically no point in casting a vote (for president) regardless of what party one is voting for --- since by that time the candidates have already been more or less chosen, and the smaller (but often more interesting) candidates have dropped out because they didn't do well enough in other state primaries.

Better that all the state primaries be held on the same date. But I won't hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

[Phantom Lord]

The RATS have more machines.

[gunnedah]

This is a crock-when are Republicans going to wise up and go to raising cane?It is as almost you are nobody and I guess this is how the Democrats are so powerful.I will bet most voting commissions out there are controlled by Democrats.

[TheDon]

Point made.

[TheDon]

Here in Orange County, all the booths are the same.

[Frances_Marion]

Hey, you guys should just start registering your dogs to vote....it worked for the democrats in Palm Beach County, Florida!

Paul Harvey!

[TheDon]

LOL! Sounds about right!

[patlaw_guy]

What part of California is this? In San Mateo County there are just booths, and they give you a ballot corresponding to your party, and you go to the first empty one. There aren't separate booths by party. Of course, we have the complete-the-line-with-ink ballots and not the flip-page punchcard ballots, so that may be the difference.

[Freedom'sWorthIt]

"my mother, who is 75 years young and has been a registered Democrat for 50+ years, finally saw the light and registered today as a Republican, proving to me that it's never too late."

THAT IS FANTASTIC!!!!! Thanks for reporting it!

[Joe Hadenuf]

I had no line at all at about 9:30 AM.

Only a couple in line here too this morning. No problems, went smooth.

[MattGarrett]

An experience shared with me from a republican friend of mine: I was sent on a wild goose chase to vote this morning.

Even though there is a polling place in the lobby of my building, my sample ballot had me going many blocks away. When I finally got there, and it was a chore to attempt to find in the first place -- I circled the block twice in heavy traffic before I concluded that this is the only place it could possibly be -- I discovered that the place where I was supposed to be voting was closed. Doors locked.

After walking around the block, I was finally approached by a security guard, who radioed the groundskeeper, who let me in and led me to the room where voting normally takes place. The room was empty. The groundskeeper told me that usually, the equipment for the election is dropped off about a week before the election, then at 6:00am or so, the people minding the polls arrived and set things up. No equipment ever arrived. The groundskeeper thought that the attendants would simply bring the equipment with them.

They never showed up. So, after waiting for somebody to show up for over an hour and a half, for understandable security reasons, they locked the gate so no one could get in.

Had I not known that there were polls at my residence, I wouldn't have known where to go. When I arrived back at my building, I was told that my polling place was on the other side of that same lobby; and sure enough, hidden on the other side of a row of voting booths, were two guys at a table. I told them about my ordeal and requested that they call someone to go put a sign on the door of the first place I went to vote to direct people here, to which they replied, "well, there are only two of us here, so we will have to wait until someone else gets here to do something like that."

The up-shot is that I got my chance to vote, and that is what matters for me. I fear, however, that there are a lot more frustrated people who went to this bogus polling place, and did not know where else to go so they gave up and did not vote, and that is just plain wrong. With voter apathy as high as it is, we can't afford to have this happen to the people who do make it a point to come out and vote.

Can someone say FLORIDA? The more things change, the more they remain the same!

[Montfort]

Perhaps we should look at the bright side, at how wonderful it is that so many Republicans turned out!!!!! Perhaps the Democrats will be shocked to find that a lot more Republicans show up for the next election, too, to vote out of office the Democrats led by Puff Daschle.

[mlo]

To make matters worse, they also switches polling places on me. I went to the place I have voted for 14 years, and they told me I was in the wrong place. They were courteous and sent me 200 ft up the street, and when I got there the folks told me that many people who used to vote in my new place were being told to go to the other place. It made no sense and everyone seemed to be upset about the changes.

This is the first election after re-districting. You shouldn't be surprised that precincts and polling places get changed. It is important to look at your sample ballots before every election and find your polling place.

[cinFLA]

Read the quote again. His comments indicate he's whining about having to wait in line to vote. He gives me the impression getting to work on time is more important than excersising his voting rights.

I saw none of that. He merely presented to us his two options without elaborating. Besides, how do you know that it is more important to vote or get to the job. He may be a fireman, paramedic, policeman, doctor, caregiver, nuclear reactor operator or whatever. Suppose your operation was scheduled for that morning and your doctor was late showing up. Would you be happy?

[Demidog]

The primary election has absolutely nothing to do with the State or the Feds. If the GOP wanted to "re-enfranchise" it's GOP supporters, it could hold the primary anytime it wished and dump government regulation of that vote at any time. The primary is the selection of which party member will run for any given political office and should be a completely private matter between the heads of the parties and their membership. It doesn't require the help of the state. However, it is extremely convenient for the GOP and the Democrats to use your tax dollars in order to carry out their primary elections.

[INSENSITIVE GUY]

If the democraps are doing this,they know it's all over for them.This is clearly desparation.